olddog wrote:
http://www.elitedeals.com/plbrglemforv.html

I installed one of these last year with no problem. We used it daily for
awhile last winter. We'd leave it on for days at a time.

I started it up this year and it immediately stated building up soot on
the artificial logs.

I took it apart and cleaned it. Does anyone know how I can determine if
it's safe to use or do I need to call someone?

Olddog
It started putting out soot, because it was dirty to begin with. You do need to
clean them quite often. We use ours on a daily basis this time of year and I
clean it once a week. I use a vacuum and and also canned air. I use the canned
air on the thermal couple. I use the vacuum to clean the logs and the fire place
itself. Dust does a number on these.

Hope this helps.

Chris